Faith in the Public Arena: Owning a home, an American dream or an elusive one?

Home. The word evokes images of family, of warmth and security. Owning a home is often referred to as the fulfillment of the American Dream. But for thousands of Minnesotans home is an elusive dream. Over the past twenty years, the shortfall in affordable housing across Minnesota has grown to crisis proportions. For many, the prospects of finding decent, affordable housing, either rented or owned, has become nearly impossible.

Several factors have contributed to the current situation. Causes include, rising home prices, low rental housing vacancy rates, changes in federal housing subsidies and a failure of wages to keep up with housing costs. Also, high land prices and a focus on upscale homes, have given developers little incentive to build affordable housing in high growth areas.

The net result is that countless working families across Minnesota are living in substandard or overcrowded housing or are homeless. Many organizations, including the Minnesota Catholic Conference, have called on our leaders to make meaningful investments in affordable housing. We have called for targeting funding to programs serving lower income families, renters and those at high-risk for homelessness. We have also encouraged urban, suburban and rural community leaders to make affordable housing a priority by preserving existing affordable housing stock and including affordable housing in development plans.

Despite some potential progress in the legislature related to homeless veterans and rural housing financing, this issue did not receive much attention during the current session. And with legislators focusing on balancing the state budget, this has become a local issue. Recently, the mayors of St. Paul and Minneapolis stated their commitment to increasing affordable housing. Now is the time to contact your local officials and urge them to include affordable housing in development plans. Let them know that adequate shelter is a minimum condition of life, respecting human dignity and promoting community.